pours out, and Antonio is mesmerized by the sounds and sights of the cyclists

riding by. In desperation, he dashes to steal a lone bicycle. He is immediately

caught, threatened by his captors and humiliated in front of Bruno,

compassionately, the owner allows Antonio to go without pressing charges.  In

tears, father and son are swallowed by the crowd walking silently into an

uncertain future. (McGills Survey Of Cinema, p.1)
  
     It was the thematic richness in the "Bicycle Thief."  I am aware that
	 
there has been a lot of complex criticism regarding this film, and much of it

has been of diverse nature. For one thing, De Sica exposes a variety of

psychological and emotional losses, i.e. the simple story of a stolen bicycle.

At the same time, as Antonio meets frustration at every turn, he losses his

confidence and his self respect and feels completely isolated. However, he is

rises above the earthy, so to speak, when he refuses to press charges on the

thief.  

	In the next major move of the film, he is quick to attempt to steal 
	
someone else’s bicycle. Humiliation is his only reward. At the same time, there 

is yet another facet of this film with has to do with father and son 

relationships.  It is actually the emotional center, and in my view the one 

around which the entire story unfolds.  De Sica has claimed that his primary 

intent was poetic rather than political, and the film has been praised as 

anti-Facist and pro-Solidarity.  Indeed, the stark realism of this backdrop 

reveals the results of years of war and impoverished living. The comments made 

about society as well as politics are inescapable, but are not overt.

     When De Sica began directing in the early 1940’s he had already
	 
established himself as a successful leading man on both stage and screen.